IAN LAVIN LTD

🌳Matureactive
05029524 · ltd · incorporated 2004-01-29
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
  • · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Jan 2025
Net worth
£37.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Non-specialised wholesale trade
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle. Family succession underway — not a classic acquisition target.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Same-surname younger director in place — likely family handover, not open to sale. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -49% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (78/100)

Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.

Company profile
address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
4 officers (3 active, 4 linked, 2 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
56 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102
Positive net assets
Net assets £37,244
Cash draining
Cash down 49% YoY
Cash YoY
-49%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£9k
↓ 49% YoY
Net Worth
£37k
↑ 101% YoY
Current Assets
£42k
↓ 5.7% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£9k£18k£27k£35k£44kJan 2024Jan 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-01-312024-01-31
Total assets£37.2k£33.4k
Current assets£41.7k£44.2k
Cash£9.3k£18.2k
Debtors£8.3k£3.4k
Net assets£37.2k£18.5k

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

🔒Filing-note intelligence

1 signal detected in this company's narrative notes — going-concern language, audit opinion, contingent liabilities, related-party transactions.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (20 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-10-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-02-03
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  3. 2025-01-21
    ➕
    LAVIN, Bradley Ian appointed
    director
  4. 2024-10-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-10-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-10-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-10-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-02-03
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  9. 2021-02-03
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  10. 2021-01-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-10-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2018-10-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2017-10-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-10-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-03-08
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2004-01-29
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As IAN LAVIN LTD
  17. 2004-01-29
    ➕
    LAVIN, Alison Jane appointed
    secretary
  18. 2004-01-29
    ➕
    LAVIN, Ian appointed
    director
  19. 2004-01-29
    ➕
    SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  20. 2004-01-29
    ➖
    SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary

Owner dependency

99/100
Critical — business is the founder

The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.

FACTORS
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "LAVIN" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 22 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 58 — approaching natural succession window.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

26/100
Weak signal

Limited succession signal. Not a near-term off-market candidate.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFamily succession underway: Not a takeover target — LAVIN, Bradley Ian (same surname) appointed 2025-01-21. Pattern consistent with intra-family handover.
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 58. Early succession window.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 22 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.

Red flags

clean
No red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)

Shareholders & ownership

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mrs Alison Jane Lavin
Individual · British · DOB 04/1967 · age 59
25–50%
25–50%board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control20/02/2020
Mr Ian Lavin
Individual · British · DOB 04/1968 · age 58
25–50%
25–50%board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control06/04/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

🔒Co-director network graph

Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →

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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

6 specific questions generated from this company's actual signals — liquidity, leverage, director age, charge count, red flags, age-of-company.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →
🔒Advanced scoring suite

Exit-route ranking, improvement thesis, quiet-distress detector, covenant-pressure proxy, extraction monitor, approaching triggers, ownership drift, local cluster, value trap, debt capacity, archetype classification — 48+ scoring modules.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →

Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2004-01-29
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46900 — Non-specialised wholesale trade

Registered office

30 Hamilton Road
Ashton-In-Makerfield
Wigan
Lancashire
WN4 0SU

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-10-31
Last made up to: 2025-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-17
Last: 2026-02-03

Officers (3 active · 1 resigned)

LAVIN, Alison Jane→
secretary · appointed 2004-01-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LAVIN, Bradley Ian→
director · ~30y · appointed 2025-01-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LAVIN, Ian→
director · ~58y · appointed 2004-01-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-01-29 · resigned 2004-01-29
Resigned

Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.

Recent filings (56 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-10-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-03
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-03
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-02-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-10-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-10-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-10-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-03
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2021-02-03
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2021-02-03